BEREA, Ohio — With the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Browns roster coming out of their bye week is set to look fairly different, especially after trading defensive end Za'Darius Smith to the Detroit Lions. But that's not the only move the team made on the defensive line.
The Browns released veteran defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson on Tuesday, a league source confirmed.
Jefferson signed a one-year contract with the Browns back in March.
Over the last four weeks, however, Jefferson has been a healthy scratch on game days, inactive since the team's game against the Washington Commanders.
Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz was asked about why Jefferson was inactive on game days. He cited the depth they have at the position being the reason for Jefferson's lack of playing time.
"Yeah, I mean, we’ve got some good defensive tackles. We got Mo (Maurice Hurst) back from the injury from early in the season and same time we got Mike Hall back and we’ve been getting really good production out of Shelby (Harris) and Dalvin (Tomlinson). Those guys have clogged up," Schwartz said."Those guys have a lot to do with it. So, it’s really just a numbers game. You got four guys active, Shelby, Dalvin, Mo’s been playing well, and Mike’s given us a spark, too and Mike has rushed the passer. There’s going to come a time when Q’s (Quinton Jefferson) going to be out there, and he’ll be ready. He’s a veteran player and he did a nice job for us early in the season.”
Jefferson will be free to sign with a new team, and the Browns will move forward with the players the team has leaned on in the interior line for the past four weeks.
